China’s weaponisation of rare earths is a new kind of trade war

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is the author of ‘Chip War’ and adviser to Vulcan Elements Shortly after Beijing announced new restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals and the specialised magnets they make, the world’s auto industry warned … Read more

Royal Gold agrees acquisitions worth $3.7bn as record prices drive sector consolidation

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Mining royalty company Royal Gold has agreed two acquisitions worth $3.7bn, in the latest deals to show how record bullion prices are driving consolidation in the highly fragmented sector. The Nasdaq-listed company said on Monday … Read more

America’s police-industrial complex has a meme stock

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Violent encounters between police and US residents claim about 2,000 lives a year. Axon Enterprise claims it has a way to reduce the frequency of such tragedies: by selling “neuromuscular incapacitation” devices to law enforcement. Readers … Read more

AI data centre group CoreWeave strikes $9bn deal to buy rival Core Scientific

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. CoreWeave has struck a $9bn deal to acquire its rival Core Scientific, in a transaction set to eliminate $10bn of expensive lease costs for the artificial intelligence data centre operator. CoreWeave announced on Monday that … Read more

A chance for Europe to rise

This article is an on-site version of our Swamp Notes newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Monday and Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Hello readers, I’ve returned from my first tranche of book leave and eager to wade back into … Read more